Ukrainian oligarch flooding EU with low-quality eggs – German media
Several large Ukrainian agricultural corporations, including one controlled by an oligarch close to Vladimir Zelensky, are deluging the EU with chicken eggs of dubious quality, the Berliner Zeitung has reported.
According to the German newspaper, Ukrainian eggs in the EU market are mostly being sold as part of processed foods where ingredient origin labeling is not mandatory, such as pasta, baked goods, snacks, desserts, and mayonnaise.
While battery cage poultry systems were banned in the EU in 2012, the practice is still widely in use in Ukraine, with housing conditions of laying hens undisclosed, the Berliner Zeitung pointed out in its report on Saturday. The outlet quoted Nora Irrgang from the animal welfare organization Four Paws as saying that the ongoing hostilities between Ukraine and Russia are likely to further degrade standards at facilities in Ukraine given regular power outages and staff shortages.
The Berliner Zeitung cited recent Eurostat data, indicating that Ukraine exported more than 85,000 tons of shell eggs to the EU from January through November 2025, to the tune of around €148 million ($174 million) – a 550% increase in volume compared to 2022.
The newspaper reported that MHP Group, a major Ukrainian agricultural corporation, whose main shareholder is oligarch and billionaire Yury Kosyuk, is one of the main driving forces behind the deluge of Ukrainian eggs entering the EU market. The German media outlet described Kosyuk as a “close adviser” to Ukrainian leader Zelensky.
Following the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, the EU temporarily suspended tariffs and import quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products. Last October, the EU-Ukraine pact, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), came into force, granting Kiev preferential access to most of the bloc’s markets, with certain limitations.
EU members Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary reacted to the deal by announcing that they would retain unilateral import bans on Ukrainian agriculture to protect domestic producers. The European Commission has threatened to penalize them for non-compliance.
